What’s next for Red Sox after missing out on Juan Soto?

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox didn’t land the big free-agent prize in outfielder Juan Soto, who signed the biggest contract in sports history with the New York Mets. The Red Sox will now turn their attention elsewhere, and Craig Breslow and company have plenty to do this week in Dallas during the Winter Meetings.
The main objective for the Boston brass should now focus on pitching, more pitching, and some more pitching after that. The Red Sox need an ace and another starter, and some bullpen help wouldn’t hurt either. 
The Red Sox have some options to choose from this winter in their quest to land an ace. While none of them will command a Soto-like mega offer, they won’t come cheap. But after reportedly offering Soto a contract around $700 million, the Sox have some money to spend this offseason.
The Red Sox need an ace and a lefty for their rotation, and Fried would fill both of those needs. The 30-year-old has spent his entire career with the Atlanta Braves, earning two All-Star nods, three Gold Gloves, and a World Series ring. He went 11-10 with a 3.42 ERA and 1.195 WHIP last season, when he fanned 157 batters over 165.2 innings and issued just 55 walks. Fried is 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA over his eight seasons. 
Fried is expected to get a deal worth more than $200 million, with the Red Sox and the Yankees expected to engage in a bidding war for the southpaw, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
“Fried priced himself out of Atlanta, but is expected to sign with the Yankees or Red Sox,” Nightengale wrote Sunday. “If Soto goes to the Mets, Fried could find himself in a nice bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees.”
Let the fun begin. Again.
The big righty might set the pitching market, with the Red Sox, Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and San Francisco Giants all expected to make a run at the 30-year-old Burnes. He was Baltimore’s ace last season, going 15-8 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 31 starts. Burnes struck out 172 batters and issued only 47 walks over 189.1 innings pitched and made his fourth straight All-Star team in 2024.
He won the NL Cy Young in 2021 while with the Milwaukee Brewers, and owns a 60-36 record, 3.19 ERA, and 1.063 WHIP over his seven-year career. The Red Sox recently met with Burnes remotely, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.  
Now that Soto has signed, things should pick up on the Fried and Burnes front. The Red Sox need to land at least one of Fried or Burnes — if not both — this winter.
If the Red Sox strike out in free agency — which they shouldn’t — they could turn their attention to the trade market. The 25-year-old Crochet was only 6-12 for the putrid White Sox last year, but he had a 3.58 ERA and 1.068 WHIP in his first full season as a starter. He struck out 209 over 142 innings while walking just 33.
It would take a lot to get a pitcher of Crochet’s caliber via trade, but the Red Sox have the assets. Chicago reportedly wants Major League talent in return, and Boston could use Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, or potentially Triston Casas as part of a trade package. Then Breslow will have to work out a long-term extension with Crochet, which won’t be cheap either.
However, Mass Live’s Chris Cotillo reported Sunday that the Red Sox are “just on the periphery of Garrett Crochet talks and are not aggressors at all.”  He reported that the Cincinnati Reds and the Yankees are real threats to land Crochet.
The Seattle Mariners have a nice collection of young, controllable arms in Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, and Bryce Miller. But they apparently want to hang on to and build around those young arms, so it would likely take a massive trade package to pry any of them from Seattle.
But the Mariners have “expressed willingness to listen to offers” on the soon-to-be 32-year-old Luis Castillo, according to Speier. The righty had a down season in 2024 with a 11-12 record to go with his 3.64 ERA and 1.169 WHIP. But he’s a three-time All-Star and despite his career record of just 73-76 with the Reds and Mariners, Castillo has a 3.65 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, and 3.72 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his eight-year career.
Pitching is the priority, but the Red Sox will look to bring in a bat or two as well. Boston expressed interest in outfielder Teoscar Hernandez last offseason before he signed with the Dodgers, and will likely shift some focus toward him now that Soto has joined the Mets. But they’ll have a lot of competition, with the Dodgers looking to retain his services and the Yankees now looking for a Soto replacement. 
According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox could “prioritize” free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, whom Bradford said could move to second base for Boston. That move would fill a big need on the diamond for the Red Sox, and give them a right-handed bat in the lineup.
On the trade front, third baseman Nolan Arenado is available and the Cardinals may not want much in return if a team is willing to pay the $74 million left on his deal over the next three seasons. The 32-year-old has lost a bit with his bat, but Arenado still has an excellent glove at third and led the Majors with a .977 fielding percentage last season.
Trading for Arenado would require a move for Rafael Devers and likely a trade of Casas, so we’ll see how creative the front office is willing to get. But expect things to really pick up for the Red Sox and the MLB Hot Stove now that Soto has signed his record-setting deal with the Mets.